NP nor Pandemic. We can all talk about this new song and why Bob released it now?

[David Morris]

Politically overt statements CAN be great art.  Often not.

On Tue, Mar 31, 2020 at 2:59 PM Laura Kelber <laurakelber at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thomas E: Also, I find some of the lyrics awful. The clumsy opening or "I'm
> just a
> patsy like Patsy Cline" -- this is not very good, is it?
>
> Agreed. Dylan is at his best when he's obscure and at his worst when he's
> overt.
>
> Laura
> (recovered from what was probably coronavirus, and waiting for two of my
> adult kids to make it through)
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 31, 2020 at 2:58 PM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Here is my admittedly fanlike hearing of the patsy line....
> >
> > Since THE Patsy is a person worth being like, the first patsy is
> > an up usage of it, so to spin.
> >
> > I read it with some resonances, one being one of her most famous song is
> > Nelson's
> > "Crazy' so the narrator is a patsy for love---or America, JFK, the soul
> of
> > America.
> >
> > And, since I also like TRP, some of his song lyrics get bashed......
> >
> > On Mon, Mar 30, 2020 at 5:31 AM Thomas Eckhardt <
> > thomas.eckhardt at uni-bonn.de>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > I am not saying you're wrong, just that the first thing one notes
> surely
> > > is that Bob Dylan is a conspiracy theorist.
> > >
> > > As for the archetypes... The song comes across as an elegy for a
> country
> > > or world gone wrong because of the most foul murder of the "king". If
> > > this is true, the ailing Fisher King of Arthurian legend does not work
> > > as a frame of reference, and neither does Frazer's sacrifice of a dying
> > > king for the good of the kingdom. Yes, the assassination is depicted as
> > > a "human sacrifice", a ritual slaughter performed on "the altar of the
> > > rising sun", but the killing of the king does not lead to the
> > > restoration of a barren wasteland but to strife and civil unrest.  The
> > > allusions to Shakespeare therefore seem more apt, even though I wonder
> > > why, besides "Hamlet", "The Merchant of Venice" and Lady Macbeth are
> > > singled out for reference.
> > >
> > > Apart from the references to the murder itself, the most peculiar
> aspect
> > > of the lyrics is the interlocking of motifs from assassination lore and
> > > from popular culture. Is this just free-wheelin' association, or is
> > > there more to it?
> > >
> > > Also, I find some of the lyrics awful. The clumsy opening or "I'm just
> a
> > > patsy like Patsy Cline" -- this is not very good, is it?
> > >
> > > Related listening:
> > >
> > > https://www.themetimeradio.com/
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > --
> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
> >
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>